New York Times' U.S. Supreme Court journalist to speak at Drake Law

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Adam Liptak, Supreme Court correspondent of the New York Times, will lead Drake University’s Constitution Day celebration Tuesday, Sept. 15, with a lecture on "The Roberts Court in the Obama Era: A Reporter's Reflections."

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in room 213 of Cartwright Hall, 2621 Carpenter Ave. The event is part of the 2009 Constitutional Law Distinguished Lecture Series sponsored by Drake's Constitutional Law Center.

The event will be held in honor of Constitution Day, which celebrates the original signing of the document on September 17, 1787. Drake is one of four universities permanently endowed by Congress to promote study of the Constitution.

Liptak, who holds a law degree from Yale Law School, first joined the New York Times Co. as a legal adviser in 1992. An expert in the First Amendment, he counseled the newspaper on issues related to defamation, privacy and newsgathering for 10 years before taking a position as national legal correspondent in 2002.

Succeeding Pulitzer Prize winner Linda Greenhouse, Liptak most recently has served as Supreme Court correspondent since June 2008. His column, "Sidebar," appears in The Times every other Tuesday.

Liptak's news contributions have included covering the Supreme Court nominations of Sonia Sotomayor, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. He also reported on the trial of Washington-area sniper Lee Malvo, as well as The Times' investigation into the disclosure of undercover C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame.

In addition, Liptak serves the Times as an expert on judicial ethics and aspects of the criminal justice system, notably capital punishment. He has taught media law at Columbia University School of Journalism and is a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School.

Liptak has been recognized for defending and advancing the cause of a free press and won the New York Press Club's John Peter Zenger award in 1999. He received the club's Crystal Gavel award for his journalism in 2006. His work also has appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and several law reviews. For more information

For more information about the lecture, contact Drake Law School at 515-271-2988.